Bastille Day in France, caught between Tour fervour and football nerves | OneFootball

Bastille Day in France is a late night of village dances, wine and near-midnight fireworks, with the Tour de France and a World Cup semi-final shaping the mood. Some towns even light their displays on 13 July.

French public TV shows Paris ablaze with colour around the Eiffel Tower, then the morning military parade on the Champs-Élysées led by Emmanuel Macron, who recently crossed the Gavarnie finish by car behind Tadej Pogacar after his Tourmalet attack. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, the day captures a nation where cycling and football vie for attention.

There is a live question over how the fireworks would feel if France were to lose to Spain in the World Cup semi-final. If that were preceded by a Paul Seixas crisis on the big Massif Central stage, it could feel like a national tragedy.

Bordeaux turned into a Tour prayer room on Friday despite temperatures above 34 degrees, in a Grande Boucle trending towards heat records. After 21:00 the city became a football stadium, bars hauled TVs onto terraces as few venues are air conditioned, and locals backed Belgium without animosity towards Spain, with jokes akin to Spain’s old Lepe gags.

Tuesday 14 July will be intense, the Tour accepts it cannot compete with football and riders have shown their colours. On Saturday in Périgueux, Uno X’s Norwegians wore the national football shirt and performed a Viking-style routine for Haaland and company.

The race must follow labour law, giving staff one day off each week, so many move around the course in civilian clothes in the heat. One communications staffer wore a Real Madrid shirt in honour of Kylian Mbappé, his state-level leanings also clear given Spain’s limited Madrid presence beyond late arrivals.

Tuesday should run on two wheels from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, then, as dusk finally arrives in northern France, football will take over. Dancing will pause and the fireworks will be kept on hold.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo